Tripping Over A Rebel Grave

October 05, 1992

Chicago landmark officials have an annoying fondness for the path of least resistance, which is why there`s poetic justice to the blowup in the City Council over the proposal to designate as a landmark a monument to Confederate prisoners who died here during the Civil War.

Several black City Council members, led by Ald. Allan Streeter (17th), have loudly condemned the proposed designation, saying it would honor a Confederate cause that included preservation of slavery. Maybe they have a point, although Streeter seems always on the prowl for a racial affront over which to make a speech. Remember when he and Ald. Robert Shaw (9th) wanted to purge the sailboat from the city`s official seal, claiming it was a ``slave ship``?

Proponents of designation say the 40-foot monument in Oak Woods Cemetery, which marks the final resting place for 6,000 soldiers who died in captivity at the Union Army`s dreadful Camp Douglas prison 30 blocks to the north, would merely commemorate a major event in the history of the city. They argue that landmark status carries no judgment over who was right or wrong, and they are probably right.

Yet the proposal raises a more fundamental question about the city`s priorities. Why does the Commission on Chicago Landmarks spend so much energy designating tombstones and publicly owned, unthreatened buildings when so many privately owned buildings of greater merit go unprotected for lack of designation?

While the commission and council have busied themselves landmarking City Hall and the Michigan Avenue Bridge-to name just two no-brainers-designatio n of such gems as the Wrigley Building, Medinah Temple, and Mies van der Rohe`s 860-880 N. Lake Shore Drive apartments have been tabled due to the objection of owners. Maybe the owners have a case, maybe not. But those are the tough calls that need to be made, not whether to honor Civil War monuments.